Lindsey Wollschlager and Justin Johnson

The day of our engagement caught us both by surprise. Though we had discussed the idea of marriage before, I had not made any specific plans or preparations before it happened. We were on a vacation to Olympic National Park in Washington State as part of a visit to see Lindsey's brother Carl graduate from college. On our fourth day into the trip, we decided to hike to a remote mountain pool called Deer Lake. We thought it would be a two hour hike round-trip, but after three hours of hiking we had not yet made it to the top. As the snow became deep and eventually turned into glaciers, Lindsey became skeptical that we would ever find the end.

For reasons unknown to me at the time, I felt a strong urge to continue. Fortunately, I was able to coax Lindsey along, primarily by finding a walking stick for her to use in the deep snow.

When we finally did make it to the top, the view was astounding - peaceful and vast and above all serene. I immediately thought to myself that I'd never find a better place to propose than there. However, being the bumbling type that I am, I didn't know if it was quite proper to propose without an actual ring ready. I awkwardly tried to get an answer from Lindsey using hypotheticals, but that didn't go well. So, I decided just to go for it and ask. Fortunately, she said yes.

The hike back down to the bottom of the mountain was remarkably more enjoyable, and for some reason, the snow did not seem as deep.

In the summer of 2003, I started my second year working as a Field Manager for the Fund for Public Interest Research. In this job, I went door-to-door to raise funds for the Sierra Club. Each day, I also supervised a group of 5 other fundraisers. I remember noticing Lindsey on the very first day she started, however she was working on a different campaign from me, so I couldn't arrange for her to be in my group

After about a week or two of working together, the Fourth of July was upon us. Because I had already become good friends with Lindsey and with her best friend Amy (who also worked there), I thought it would be good to see if they would want to see the St. Paul fireworks. I asked Lindsey first, but for some reason I could not ask her without being awkward, and very quickly, I found myself asking her on a date without Amy.

Though I stumbled into it, I couldn't have asked for a better first date.

I met Justin in the summer between my junior and senior year of college. I was home from Los Angeles for the summer doing a part-time internship at a local nonprofit in St. Paul. I was having trouble finding an additional part-time job that would fit my internship schedule, and my friend Amy suggested that I come work with her as a canvasser for the Sierra Club. I was a little hesitant because I hadn't done much fund-raising before. Amy invited me to “Pizza Night” so that I could meet some of the other canvassers and see if it would be a job I would like. Since there was free pizza involved, I figured, why not?

Driving up to Minneapolis from Cannon Falls, Amy chattered away about how much fun it was to work for the Sierra Club because there were other young smart people, just like us; it was impossible not to make new friends. “Oh, and Lindsey,” she said, “you have to meet my friend Justin. He's so smart. You'll love debating him.” Sure enough, Justin was at pizza night, and sure enough, we hit it off. I don't remember exactly what sparked our conversation that night, but I think it had something to do with the economics of the Industrial Revolution. I know -- it's so nerdy. We were bound to be together.

I applied the next day and was hired. I was nervous, and I showed up early for my first day of work in order to practice the script. About 5 minutes before crews were scheduled to leave, Justin sauntered in, book in hand and a book bag slung across his back. The other field managers kind of cheered him when he came in. I remember thinking, who is this guy? Justin was confident and a highly skilled fund-raiser. All the new hires looked up to him, though I'm not sure how aware he was of this admiration.

All along I was thinking that Justin was out of my league, and so imagine my surprise when he asked me to watch the 4th of July fireworks with him. We watched the fireworks from the Wabasha Street Bridge in St. Paul. The fireworks were lovely reflected over the dark water of the Mississippi River and in the glass windows of the downtown skyscrapers. We speculated about the adventures had by the houseboats docked below the bridge and wondered what it would be like to spend the summer on a houseboat touring the great length of the Mississippi River. To this day, if I'm ever in the area, I will drive over the Wabasha Street Bridge just for old times sake.

For our honeymoon, we are planning to go to China. We have been there together once before and had such a good time that we think it'd be good to spend an extended period there. Lindsey wants to take an authentic cooking class, and I have some contacts there with whom I've been working in the last few years that I would like to meet.